Impact Analysis of Network Layer Attacks in Real-Time Wireless Sensor Network Testbed

Abstract

With the rapid increase in the demand for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications. The intrusive activities are also raised. To save these networks from the intruders it is required to understand the implications of any malicious act. Most of the researchers have utilized simulated software to understand the impact of such intrusions, however, real network conditions vary from the simulated environment. Therefore, the current work focuses on analyzing the impact of network layer attacks in real-time WSN testbed. The contributions of this work are threefold. Firstly, it presents the deployment of a real-time experimental testbed using standardized sensor devices in a multi-hop topological arrangement. Secondly, it provides the implementation details of seven network layer attacks: Blackhole (BH), Dropping Node (DN), Drop Route Request (DRREQ), Drop Route Reply (DRREP), Drop Route Error (DRERR), Grayhole (GH) and Sinkhole (SH) in a single testbed. Finally, the testbed performance with and without each attack is monitored and compared in terms of network performance metrics to understand the attacks’ impact. This work will be helpful for the research community for proposing efficient attack detection and prevention solutions for these networks.